System and method for providing time domain allocations in a communication system

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing time domain allocations in a communication system. In an embodiment, an apparatus operable in a communication system and including processing circuitry is configured to receive an indication of a time domain allocation in downlink control information associated with a radio network temporary identifier (“RNTI”) identifying the apparatus, and employ the time domain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissions associated with the apparatus. In another embodiment, an apparatus operable in a communication system and including processing circuitry is configured to associate a time domain allocation with a RNTI identifying a user equipment, and provide an indication of the time domain allocation in downlink control information to allow the user equipment to employ the time domain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissions associated therewith.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/043,155, filed Sep. 29, 2020, which is 371 of InternationalApplication No. PCT/IB2019/050883, filed Feb. 4, 2019, which claims thebenefit of and priority to international application PCT/CN2018/081844,filed Apr. 4, 2018, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TIMEDOMAIN ALLOCATIONS IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM,” the disclosures of whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed, in general, to the communicationsystems and, more specifically, to a system and method for providingtime domain allocations in a communication system.

BACKGROUND

In wireless communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (“LTE”)and New Radio (“NR”) standards in the Third Generation PartnershipProgram (“3GPP”), resources for uplink (“UL”) transmissions are normallyscheduled by a network node (e.g., a base station). Both the time domainand frequency domain resource allocations for the downlink (“DL”) anduplink data transmissions are indicated as part of different downlinkcontrol information (“DCI”) elements in a physical downlink controlchannel (“PDCCH”). DCI format 0 carries the uplink grant that specifiesresources for the uplink transmissions along with other parameters suchas modulation and coding schemes and power control parameters. DCIformat 1 is used to carry downlink resource assignment together withother control information such as modulation and coding schemes.

Before radio resource control is configured, however, a user equipmentmay not have the information such as a configured table for the timedomain allocation. Thus, the user equipment does not have the timedomain allocation for downlink and uplink access before the radioresource control configuration is received. Accordingly, what is neededin the art is a system and method for time domain allocations in acommunication system.

SUMMARY

These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, andtechnical advantages are generally achieved, by advantageous embodimentsof the present disclosure for a system and method for providing timedomain allocations in a communication system. In an embodiment, anapparatus operable in a communication system and including processingcircuitry is configured to receive an indication of a time domainallocation in downlink control information associated with a radionetwork temporary identifier (“RNTI”) identifying the apparatus, andemploy the time domain allocation associated with the RNTI fortransmissions associated with the apparatus.

In another embodiment, an apparatus operable in a communication systemand including processing circuitry is configured to associate a timedomain allocation with a RNTI identifying a user equipment. Theapparatus is also configured to provide an indication of the time domainallocation in downlink control information to allow the user equipmentto employ the time domain allocation associated with the RNTI fortransmissions associated therewith.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present disclosure in order that the detaileddescription of the disclosure that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be describedhereinafter, which form the subject of the claims of the disclosure. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures or processes for carrying outthe same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realizedby those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, referenceis now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate diagrams of embodiments of a communicationsystem, and portions thereof;

FIGS. 4 to 7 illustrate diagrams of embodiments of communicationsystems;

FIG. 8 illustrates graphical representations of embodiments ofsynchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (“SS/PBCH”) block andremaining minimum system information (“RMSI”) control resource set(“CORESET”) multiplexing types; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate flow diagrams of embodiments of operating acommunication system.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated, and may not beredescribed in the interest of brevity after the first instance. TheFIGUREs are drawn to illustrate the relevant aspects of exemplaryembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The making and using of the present exemplary embodiments are discussedin detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the embodimentsprovide many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in awide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussedare merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the systems,subsystems, and modules for providing time domain allocations in acommunication system. While the principles will be described in theenvironment of a Third Generation Partnership Program (“3GPP”) Long TermEvolution (“LTE”) and/or Fifth Generation (“5G”) communication system,any environment such as a Wi-Fi wireless communication system is wellwithin the broad scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, a non-limiting term user equipment (“UE”) is used.The user equipment can be any type of wireless communication device—withor without an active user—capable of communicating with a network nodeor another user equipment over radio signals. The user equipment may beany device that has an addressable interface (e.g., an Internet protocol(“IP”) address, a Bluetooth identifier (“ID”), a near-fieldcommunication (“NFC”) ID, etc.), a cell radio network temporaryidentifier (“C-RNTI”), and/or is intended for accessing services via anaccess network and configured to communicate over the access network viathe addressable interface. The user equipment may include, withoutlimitation, a radio communication device, a target device, a device todevice (“D2D”) user equipment, a machine type user equipment or userequipment capable of machine to machine communication (“M2M”), a sensordevice, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, mediaplayer, camera, a personal computer (“PC”), a tablet, a mobile terminal,a smart phone, a laptop embedded equipment (“LEE”), a laptop mountedequipment (“LME”), a universal serial bus (“USB”) dongle, and customerpremises equipment (“CPE”).

Also, in some embodiments, generic terminology “network node” is used.It can be any kind of network node that may include a radio network nodesuch as base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, basestation controller, network controller, multi-standard radio basestation, g Node B (“gNB”), new radio (“NR”) base station, evolved Node B(“eNB”), Node B, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (“MCE”), relaynode, access point, radio access point, remote radio unit (“RRU”) remoteradio head (“RRH”), a multi-standard radio base station (“MSR BS”), acore network node (e.g., mobility management entity (“MME”),self-organizing network (“SON”) node, a coordinating node, positioningnode, minimization of drive test (“MDT”) node, or even an external node(e.g., third party node, a node external to the current network), etc.The network node may also include test equipment. The term “radio node”used herein may be used to denote a user equipment or a radio networknode. These various nodes will be introduced herein below.

The term “signaling” used herein may include, without limitation,high-layer signaling (e.g., via radio resource control (“RRC”) or alike), lower-layer signaling (e.g., via a physical control channel or abroadcast channel), or a combination thereof. The signaling may beimplicit or explicit. The signaling may further be unicast, multicast orbroadcast. The signaling may also be directly to another node or via athird node.

The term “radio signal measurement” used herein may refer to anymeasurement performed on radio signals. The radio signal measurementscan be absolute or relative. The radio signal measurement may be calledas signal level that may be signal quality and/or signal strength. Theradio signal measurements can be, for instance, intra-frequency,inter-frequency, inter-radio access technology (“RAT”) measurements,carrier aggregation (“CA”) measurements. The radio signal measurementscan be unidirectional (e.g., downlink (“DL”) or uplink (“UL”)) orbidirectional (e.g., round trip time (“RTT”), Rx-Tx, etc.). Someexamples of radio signal measurements include timing measurements (e.g.,time of arrival (“TOA”), timing advance, round trip time (“RTT”),reference signal time difference (“RSTD”), Rx-Tx, propagation delay,etc.), angle measurements (e.g., angle of arrival), power-basedmeasurements (e.g., received signal power, reference signal receivedpower (“RSRP”), received signal quality, reference signal receivedquality (“RSRQ”), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (“SINR”),signal-to-noise ratio (“SNR”), interference power, total interferenceplus noise, received signal strength indicator (“RSSI”), noise power,etc.), cell detection or cell identification, radio link monitoring(“RLM”), and system information (“SI”) reading, etc. The inter-frequencyand inter-RAT measurements may be carried out by the user equipment inmeasurement gaps unless the user equipment is capable of doing suchmeasurement without gaps. Examples of measurement gaps are measurementgap id #0 (each gap of six milliseconds (“ms”) occurring every 40 ms),measurement gap id #1 (each gap of six ms occurring every 80 ms), etc.The measurement gaps maybe configured by the network node for the userequipment.

Performing a measurement on a carrier may imply performing measurementson signals of one or more cells operating on that carrier or performingmeasurements on signals of the carrier (a carrier specific measurementsuch as RSSI). Examples of cell specific measurements are signalstrength, signal quality, etc.

The term measurement performance may refer to any criteria or metricthat characterizes the performance of the measurement performed by aradio node. The term measurement performance is also called asmeasurement requirement, measurement performance requirements, etc. Theradio node meets one or more measurement performance criteria related tothe performed measurement. Examples of measurement performance criteriaare measurement time, number of cells to be measured with themeasurement time, measurement reporting delay, measurement accuracy,measurement accuracy with respect to a reference value (e.g., idealmeasurement result), etc. Examples of measurement time are measurementperiod, cell identification period, evaluation period, etc.

The embodiments described herein may be applied to any multicarriersystem wherein at least two radio network nodes can configure radiosignal measurements for the same user equipment. One specific examplescenario includes a dual connectivity deployment with LTE primary cell(“PCell”) and NR primary secondary cell (“PSCell”). Another examplescenario is a dual connectivity deployment with NR PCell and NR PSCell.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 to 3 , illustrated are diagrams ofembodiments of a communication system 100, and portions thereof. Asshown in FIG. 1 , the communication system 100 includes one or moreinstances of user equipment (generally designated 105) in communicationwith one or more radio access nodes (generally designated 110). Thecommunication network 100 is organized into cells 115 that are connectedto a core network 120 via corresponding radio access nodes 110. Inparticular embodiments, the communication system 100 may be configuredto operate according to specific standards or other types of predefinedrules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the communicationsystem 100 may implement communication standards, such as Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (“GSM”), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (“UMTS”), Long Term Evolution (“LTE”), and/or other suitable 2G,3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (“WLAN”) standards,such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wirelesscommunication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (“WiMax”), Bluetooth, and/or ZigBee standards.

In addition to the devices mentioned above, the user equipment 105 maybe a portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, orvehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data,via a wireless or wireline connection. A user equipment 105 may havefunctionality for performing monitoring, controlling, measuring,recording, etc., that can be embedded in and/or controlled/monitored bya processor, central processing unit (“CPU”), microprocessor, ASIC, orthe like, and configured for connection to a network such as a localad-hoc network or the Internet. The user equipment 105 may have apassive communication interface, such as a quick response (Q) code, aradio-frequency identification (“RFID”) tag, an NFC tag, or the like, oran active communication interface, such as a modem, a transceiver, atransmitter-receiver, or the like. In an internet of things (“IoT”)scenario, the user equipment 105 may include sensors, metering devicessuch as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personalappliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such aswatches) capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operationalstatus or other functions associated with its operation.

Alternative embodiments of the user equipment 105 may include additionalcomponents beyond those shown in FIG. 1 that may be responsible forproviding certain aspects of the functionality, including any of thefunctionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary tosupport the solution described herein. As just one example, the userequipment 105 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, andoutput interfaces, devices and circuits. The input interfaces, devices,and circuits are configured to allow input of information into the userequipment 105, and are connected to a processor to process the inputinformation. For example, input interfaces, devices, and circuits mayinclude a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touchdisplay, one or more cameras, a universal serial bus (“USB”) port, orother input elements. Output interfaces, devices, and circuits areconfigured to allow output of information from the user equipment 105,and are connected to the processor to output information from the userequipment 105. For example, output interfaces, devices, or circuits mayinclude a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, aheadphone interface, or other output elements. Using one or more inputand output interfaces, devices, and circuits, the user equipment 105 maycommunicate with end users and/or the wireless network, and allow themto benefit from the functionality described herein.

As another example, the user equipment 105 may include a power source.The power source may include power management circuitry. The powersource may receive power from a power supply, which may either beinternal or external to the power source. For example, the userequipment 105 may include a power supply in the form of a battery orbattery pack that is connected to, or integrated into, the power source.Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also beused. As a further example, the user equipment 105 may be connectable toan external power supply (such as an electricity outlet) via an inputcircuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the externalpower supply supplies power to the power source.

The radio access nodes 110 such as base stations are capable ofcommunicating with the user equipment 105 along with any additionalelements suitable to support communication between user equipment 105 orbetween a user equipment 105 and another communication device (such as alandline telephone). The radio access nodes 110 may be categorized basedon the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, theirtransmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto basestations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro basestations. The radio access nodes 110 may also include one or more (orall) parts of a distributed radio access node such as centralizeddigital units and/or remote radio units (“RRUs”), sometimes referred toas remote radio heads (“RRHs”). Such remote radio units may or may notbe integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of adistributed radio base stations may also be referred to as nodes in adistributed antenna system (“DAS”). As a particular non-limitingexample, a base station may be a relay node or a relay donor nodecontrolling a relay.

The radio access nodes 110 may be composed of multiple physicallyseparate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a radio networkcontroller (“RNC”) component, a base transceiver station (“BTS”)component and a base station controller (“BSC”) component, etc.), whichmay each have their own respective processor, memory, and interfacecomponents. In certain scenarios in which the radio access nodes 110include multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), oneor more of the separate components may be shared among several networknodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such ascenario, each unique NodeB and BSC pair, may be a separate networknode. In some embodiments, the radio access nodes 110 may be configuredto support multiple radio access technologies (“RATs”). In suchembodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memoryfor the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., thesame antenna may be shared by the RATs).

Although the illustrated user equipment 105 may represent communicationdevices that include any suitable combination of hardware and/orsoftware, the user equipment 105 may, in particular embodiments,represent devices such as the example user equipment 200 illustrated ingreater detail by FIG. 2 . Similarly, although the illustrated radioaccess node 110 may represent network nodes that include any suitablecombination of hardware and/or software, these nodes may, in particularembodiments, represent devices such as the example radio access node 300illustrated in greater detail by FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the example user equipment 200 includes a processor(or processing circuitry) 205, a memory 210, a transceiver 215 andantennas 220. In particular embodiments, some or all of thefunctionality described above as being provided by machine typecommunication (“MTC”) and machine-to-machine (“M2M”) devices, and/or anyother types of communication devices may be provided by the deviceprocessor 205 executing instructions stored on a computer-readablemedium, such as the memory 210 shown in FIG. 2 . Alternative embodimentsof the user equipment 200 may include additional components (such as theinterfaces, devices and circuits mentioned above) beyond those shown inFIG. 2 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of thedevice's functionality, including any of the functionality describedabove and/or any functionality necessary to support the solutiondescribed herein.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the example radio access node 300 includes aprocessor (or processing circuitry) 305, a memory 310, a transceiver320, a network interface 315 and antennas 325. In particularembodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may beprovided by a base station, a radio network controller, a relay stationand/or any other type of network nodes (see examples above) inconnection with the node processor 305 executing instructions stored ona computer-readable medium, such as the memory 310 shown in FIG. 3 .Alternative embodiments of the radio access node 300 may includeadditional components responsible for providing additionalfunctionality, including any of the functionality identified aboveand/or any functionality necessary to support the solution describedherein.

The processors, which may be implemented with one or a plurality ofprocessing devices, performs functions associated with its operationincluding, without limitation, precoding of antenna gain/phaseparameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming acommunication message, formatting of information and overall control ofa respective communication device. Exemplary functions related tomanagement of communication resources include, without limitation,hardware installation, traffic management, performance data analysis,configuration management, security, billing and the like. The processorsmay be of any type suitable to the local application environment, andmay include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purposecomputers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (“DSPs”),field-programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”), application-specificintegrated circuits (“ASICs”), and processors based on a multi-coreprocessor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

The processors may include one or more of radio frequency (“RF”)transceiver circuitry, baseband processing circuitry, and applicationprocessing circuitry. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry,baseband processing circuitry, and application processing circuitry maybe on separate chipsets. In alternative embodiments, part or all of thebaseband processing circuitry and application processing circuitry maybe combined into one chipset, and the RF transceiver circuitry may be ona separate chipset. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of theRF transceiver circuitry and baseband processing circuitry may be on thesame chipset, and the application processing circuitry may be on aseparate chipset. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all ofthe RF transceiver circuitry, baseband processing circuitry, andapplication processing circuitry may be combined in the same chipset.

The processors may be configured to perform any determining operationsdescribed herein. Determining as performed by the processors may includeprocessing information obtained by the processor by, for example,converting the obtained information into other information, comparingthe obtained information or converted information to information storedin the respective device, and/or performing one or more operations basedon the obtained information or converted information, and as a result ofthe processing making a determination.

The memories may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to thelocal application environment, and may be implemented using any suitablevolatile or nonvolatile data storage technology such as asemiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system,an optical memory device and system, fixed memory and removable memory.The programs stored in the memories may include program instructions orcomputer program code that, when executed by an associated processor,enable the respective communication device to perform its intendedtasks. Of course, the memories may form a data buffer for datatransmitted to and from the same. Exemplary embodiments of the system,subsystems, and modules as described herein may be implemented, at leastin part, by computer software executable by processors, or by hardware,or by combinations thereof.

The transceivers modulate information onto a carrier waveform fortransmission by the respective communication device via the respectiveantenna(s) to another communication device. The respective transceiverdemodulates information received via the antenna(s) for furtherprocessing by other communication devices. The transceiver is capable ofsupporting duplex operation for the respective communication device. Thenetwork interface performs similar functions as the transceivercommunicating with a core network.

The antennas may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting andreceiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, theantennas may include one or more omni-directional, sector or panelantennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, forexample, 2 gigahertz (“GHz”) and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna maybe used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sectorantenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from deviceswithin a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sightantenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straightline.

Turning now to FIG. 4 , illustrated is a system level diagram of anembodiment of a communication system such as a 5G/NR communicationssystem. The NR architecture includes terminology such as “NG” (or “ng”)denoting new radio, “eNB” denoting an LTE eNodeB, “gNB” denoting a NRbase station (“BS,” one NR BS may correspond to one or moretransmission/reception points), a “RAN” denoting a radio access network,“5GC” denoting a Fifth Generation (“5G”) core network, “AMF” denoting anaccess and mobility management function, and “UPF” denoting a user planefunction. The lines between network nodes represent interfacestherebetween.

FIG. 4 illustrates an overall NR architecture with eNB s and gNB scommunicating over various interfaces. In particular, the gNBs andng-eNBs are interconnected with each other by an Xn interface. The gNBsand ng-eNBs are also connected by NG interfaces to the 5GC, morespecifically to the AMF by the NG-C interface and to the UPF interface,as described in 3GPP Technical Specification (“TS”) 23.501. Thearchitecture and the F1 interface for a functional split are defined in3GPP TS 38.401.

Turning now to FIG. 5 , illustrated is a system level diagram of anembodiment of a communication system including 5G/NR deploymentexamples. The communication system illustrates non-centralized,co-sited, centralized, and shared deployments of NR base stations, LTEbase stations, lower levels of NR base stations, and NR base stationsconnected to core networks.

Both standalone and non-standalone NR deployments may be incorporatedinto the communication system. The standalone deployments may be singleor multi-carrier (e.g., NR carrier aggregation) or dual connectivitywith a NR PCell and a NR PSCell. The non-standalone deployments describea deployment with LTE PCell and NR. There may also be one or more LTEsecondary cells (“SCells”) and one or more NR SCells.

The following deployment options are captured in NR Work ItemDescription (RP-170847, “New WID on New Radio Access Technology,” NTTDoCoMo, March 2018). The work item supports a single connectivity optionincluding NR connected to 5G-CN (“CN” representing a core network,option 2 in TR 38.801 section 7.1). The work item also supports dualconnectivity options including E-UTRA-NR DC (“E-UTRA” represents evolveduniversal mobile telecommunications system (“UMTS”) terrestrial radioaccess, and “DC” represents dual connectivity) via an evolved packetcore (“EPC”) where the E-UTRA is the master (Option 3/3a/3x in TR 38.801section 10.1.2), E-UTRA-NR DC via 5G-CN where the E-UTRA is the master(Option 7/7a/7x in TR 38.801 section 10.1.4), and NR-E-UTRA DC via 5G-CNwhere the NR is the master (Option 4/4A in TR 38.801 section 10.1.3).Dual connectivity is between E-UTRA and NR, for which the priority iswhere E-UTRA is the master and the second priority is where NR is themaster, and dual connectivity is within NR. The standards and otherdocuments introduced in the present disclosure are incorporated hereinby reference.

Turning now to FIG. 6 , illustrated is a system level diagram of anembodiment of a communication system including a communication network(e.g., a 3GPP-type cellular network) 610 connected to a host computer630. The communication network 610 includes an access network 611, suchas a radio access network, and a core network 614. The access network611 includes a plurality of base stations 612 a, 612 b, 612 c (alsocollectively referred to as 612), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other typesof wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area613 a, 613 b, 613 c (also collectively referred to as 613). Each basestation 612 a, 612 b, 612 c is connectable to the core network 614 overa wired or wireless connection 615. A first user equipment (“UE”) 691located in coverage area 613 c is configured to wirelessly connect to,or be paged by, the corresponding base station 612 c. A second userequipment 692 in coverage area 613 a is wirelessly connectable to thecorresponding base station 612 a. While a plurality of user equipment691, 692 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments areequally applicable to a situation where a sole user equipment is in thecoverage area or where a sole user equipment is connecting to thecorresponding base station 612.

The communication network 610 is itself connected to the host computer630, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of astandalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server oras processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 630 may beunder the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operatedby the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Theconnections 621, 622 between the communication network 610 and the hostcomputer 630 may extend directly from the core network 614 to the hostcomputer 630 or may go via an optional intermediate network 620. Theintermediate network 620 may be one of, or a combination of more thanone of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network620, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular,the intermediate network 620 may include two or more sub-networks (notshown).

The communication system of FIG. 6 as a whole enables connectivitybetween one of the connected user equipment 691, 692 and the hostcomputer 630. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top(“OTT”) connection 650. The host computer 630 and the connected userequipment 691, 692 are configured to communicate data and/or signalingvia the OTT connection 650, using the access network 611, the corenetwork 614, any intermediate network 620 and possible furtherinfrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 650 maybe transparent in the sense that the participating communication devicesthrough which the OTT connection 650 passes are unaware of routing ofuplink and downlink communications. For example, a base station 612 maynot or need not be informed about the past routing of an incomingdownlink communication with data originating from a host computer 630 tobe forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected user equipment 691.Similarly, the base station 612 need not be aware of the future routingof an outgoing uplink communication originating from the user equipment691 towards the host computer 630.

Turning now to FIG. 7 , illustrated is a block diagram of an embodimentof a communication system 700. In the communication system 700, a hostcomputer 710 includes hardware 715 including a communication interface716 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connectionwith an interface of a different communication device of thecommunication system 700. The host computer 710 further includesprocessing circuitry (a processor) 718, which may have storage and/orprocessing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 718 mayinclude one or more programmable processors, application-specificintegrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations ofthese (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 710further includes software 711, which is stored in or accessible by thehost computer 710 and executable by the processing circuitry 718. Thesoftware 711 includes a host application 712. The host application 712may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a userequipment (“UE”) 730 connecting via an OTT connection 750 terminating atthe user equipment 730 and the host computer 710. In providing theservice to the remote user, the host application 712 may provide userdata which is transmitted using the OTT connection 750.

The communication system 700 further includes a base station 720provided in the communication system 700 including hardware 725 enablingit to communicate with the host computer 710 and with the user equipment730. The hardware 725 may include a communication interface 726 forsetting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with aninterface of a different communication device of the communicationsystem 700, as well as a radio interface 727 for setting up andmaintaining at least a wireless connection 770 with a user equipment 730located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 7 ) served by the basestation 720. The communication interface 726 may be configured tofacilitate a connection 760 to the host computer 710. The connection 760may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in FIG. 7) of the communication system 700 and/or through one or moreintermediate networks outside the communication system 700. In theembodiment shown, the hardware 725 of the base station 720 furtherincludes processing circuitry (a processor) 728, which may include oneor more programmable processors, application-specific integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (notshown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 720 further hassoftware 721 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

The user equipment 730 includes hardware 735 having a radio interface737 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 770 with abase station 720 serving a coverage area in which the user equipment 730is currently located. The hardware 735 of the user equipment 730 furtherincludes processing circuitry (a processor) 738, which may include oneor more programmable processors, application-specific integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (notshown) adapted to execute instructions. The user equipment 730 furtherincludes software 731, which is stored in or accessible by the userequipment 730 and executable by the processing circuitry 738. Thesoftware 731 includes a client application 732. The client application732 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human uservia the user equipment 730, with the support of the host computer 710.In the host computer 710, an executing host application 712 maycommunicate with the executing client application 732 via the OTTconnection 750 terminating at the user equipment 730 and the hostcomputer 710. In providing the service to the user, the clientapplication 732 may receive request data from the host application 712and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTTconnection 750 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Theclient application 732 may interact with the user to generate the userdata that it provides.

It is noted that the host computer 710, base station 720 and userequipment 730 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be identical to the hostcomputer 630, one of the base stations 612 a, 612 b, 612 c and one ofthe user equipment 691, 692 of FIG. 6 , respectively. This is to say,the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in FIG. 7 andindependently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 6 .

In FIG. 7 , the OTT connection 750 has been drawn abstractly toillustrate the communication between the host computer 710 and the useequipment 730 via the base station 720, without explicit reference toany intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via thesedevices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it maybe configured to hide from the user equipment 730 or from the serviceprovider operating the host computer 710, or both. While the OTTconnection 750 is active, the network infrastructure may further takedecisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on thebasis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of thenetwork).

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoringdata rate, latency and other factors on which the one or moreembodiments improve. There may further be an optional networkfunctionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 750 between the hostcomputer 710 and user equipment 730, in response to variations in themeasurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the networkfunctionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 750 may beimplemented in the software 711 of the host computer 710 or in thesoftware 731 of the user equipment 730, or both. In embodiments, sensors(not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communicationdevices through which the OTT connection 750 passes; the sensors mayparticipate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of themonitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of otherphysical quantities from which software 711, 731 may compute or estimatethe monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 750may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing,etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 720, and it maybe unknown or imperceptible to the base station 720. Such procedures andfunctionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certainembodiments, measurements may involve proprietary user equipmentsignaling facilitating the host computer's 710 measurements ofthroughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurementsmay be implemented in that the software 711, 731 causes messages to betransmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTTconnection 750 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.Additionally, the communication system 700 may employ the principles asdescribed herein.

In NR, time domain allocation in the DCI is a pointer to one entry in aset of configured allocations provided to a user equipment by radioresource control signaling. The set of configured allocations may haveup to 16 entries and each entry has a field of two bits (for thedownlink), three bits (for the uplink) that points to a future slot forthe allocation, a field of seven bits that indicate the start andduration of the time domain allocation in that slot, a field thatspecifies whether the allocation is defined relative to the start of aslot or start of the physical downlink shared channel/physical uplinkshared channel (“PDSCH/PUSCH”) resources.

According to 3GPP RAN1 #91 (Sanya, China, Apr. 16-20, 2018 meeting), thereference point for starting an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (“OFDM”) symbol has little or no radio resource controlimpact (e.g., slot boundary, start of a control resource set (“CORESET”)where the PDCCH was found, or part of the table/equation in RAN1specifications). The aggregation factor (1, 2, 4, 8 for downlink oruplink) is semi-statically configured separately (i.e., not part of atable), which has no additional radio resource control impact for usingthe aggregation factor along with the tables.

According to 3GPP RAN1 #90bis, for both slot and mini-slot, thescheduling DCI can provide an index into a user equipment specific tablegiving the OFDM symbols used for the PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmissionsincluding the starting OFDM symbol and length for the OFDM symbols ofthe allocation. Also, the number of tables (e.g., one or more), theinclusion of the slots used for multi-slot/multi-mini-slot scheduling orslot index for cross-slot scheduling, and if slot frame indication(“SFI”) support is necessary for non-contiguous allocations can also beanalyzed. For remaining minimum system information (“RMSI”) scheduling,at least one table entry should be fixed in the specification.

In 3GPP meeting RAN1 Ad-Hoc #180 1, NR supports a DCI format having thesame size as the DCI format 1_0 to be used for scheduling RMSI/OSI(“OSI” represents other system information) for paging, and for randomaccess. In 3GPP meeting RAN1 #92, the time domain allocation table canbe configured in the system information block 1 (“SIB1”) (RMSI)according to a request RAN2 to provide the RRC-configured table in theRMSI to configure PDSCH and PUSCH symbol allocation for PDSCH/PUSCHscheduling after the RMSI, where the RRC-configurable table viadedicated signaling was previously specified in RAN1.

As mentioned above, before the radio resource control is configured, theuser equipment does not have the configured table for time domainallocation. Thus, the user equipment does not have the time domainallocation for downlink and uplink access before the radio resourcecontrol configuration is received.

For broadcast information, the same PDCCH information is transmitted toall the user equipment, but the user equipment may (or may not) havereceived the radio resource control configured time domain allocationlist. Thus, it is up to each user equipment to consistently interpretthe time domain allocation, which is uncertain without direction fromthe network or without a predetermined standard. While at least onetable entry has to be reserved for the RMSI, the flexibility of usingthe table for other purposes is limited.

The time domain allocation table of fixed pre-defined number of entriesis not sufficient to cover different configuration requirements,especially when the network dynamically changes slot configurations fordifferent reasons. There may be ambiguity between the network and userequipment for which table (such as the RRC-reconfigured table or SIB1configured table) is valid for the user equipment to interpret the timedomain allocation for an uplink/downlink transmission.

As disclosed herein, a system and method provides a technique to carrytime domain allocation in a signaling associated with radio networktemporary identifiers (“RNTIs”). A system and method is also disclosedto interpret the time domain allocation in the signaling associated withthe RNTIs.

The system associates the interpretation and presentation of the timedomain allocation in the DCI with the RNTI types. As the RNTIs are usedby the network for certain kind of functions or services, it would bebeneficial to have that association for a flexible networkfunctionality. The system information can be transmitted with moreflexible time domain allocations. The network has the freedom toconfigure the slot with any pattern of downlink/uplink symbols anddivide the resources between the PDSCH and other channels in the timedomain.

The time domain allocation table in the RRC-configuration may beindependent of time domain allocation of system information. The networkcan re-configure the time domain allocation table without reserving anyfixed index for transmitting a system information block (“SIB”). Thesystem as described herein reduces ambiguity between the network anduser equipment about the time domain allocation.

The system information (“SI”)-RNTI provides initial network systemconfigurations to the user equipment. Since no other network informationthat characterize the network configuration may have been indicated tothe user equipment, the time domain allocation should be more flexibleto satisfy different network requirements. The below examples emphasizeconfiguration flexibility for time domain allocation associated with theSI-RNTI.

One example is for PDCCH to be scrambled with the SI-RNTI, the timedomain resource assignment including a start and length indicator value(“SLIV”), a time offset K0, demodulation reference signals (“DMRS”) typeother than PDCCH scrambled with a cell (“C”)-RNTI using indexes to pointto a table. An example for DCI content of DCI1_0 scrambled with SI-RNTIis the time domain resource assignment equaling seven bits, a timeoffset K0 of one bit, and the DMRS type A or B of one bit. For the DMRS,it is possible to define a table that maps the start symbol (“S”) andsymbol length (“L”) to certain types, and thus save one bit. (Scramblinga PDCCH or DCI with RNTI, whether C-RNTI, SI-RNTI, or any other RNTI, asdescribed herein refers to a procedure by which the cyclic redundancycheck parity bits of a DCI transmission corresponding to a PDCCH arescrambled with an associated RNTI.)

The time domain allocation for system information carried by the PDCCHscrambled with SI-RNTI should have the flexibility of any start symboland symbol lengths within one slot. The time domain allocation shouldnot be limited with a pre-defined fixed number of configuration entries.

Another example is to use a different number of bits, most probably morebits, to indicate time domain resource assignment of the SI-RNTI thanthat in C-RNTI. A pre-defined table may have 32, 64 or 128 entries.

Another example is to make use of existing information (e.g.,information in a master information block (“MIB”)) to interpret the timedomain allocation to be more flexible. To support more entries in thePDSCH table, the S position can be related to the DL-DMRS-TypeA-position={2,3} that is signaled in the master information block(“MIB”), which one will be used is likely coupled in practice to thevalues signaled in DL-DMRS-Type A-position. So, if more defaultscheduling possibilities would be beneficial, then TABLE 2 below ispossible, where x=DL-DMRS-Type A-position.

The way to interpret the time domain allocation in signaling should bedifferentiated/associated with RNTIs. This is to improve the flexibilityof the network to configure the user equipment with different tablesassociated with different RNTIs. It also helps to reduce the ambiguitybetween network and user equipment when multiple RRC configured tableshave been received by the user equipment.

One example is for SI-RNTI, the user equipment may use a fixedpre-defined table such as a table defined in a specification. At a latertime, a RRC-reconfigured table is provided, and the SI-RNTI should beinterpreted the same way as a user equipment without receiving RRCconfiguration. And for C-RNTI, the user equipment may use theRRC-configured table.

The time domain allocation for the SI-RNTI may use a different tablefrom the RRC configured table even after the user equipment has receiveda RRC-reconfigured table. For random access (“RA”)-RNTI, paging(“P”)-RNTI, temporary cell (“TC”)-RNTI, configured scheduling(“CS”)-RNTI and cell (“C”)-RNTI etc., the tables used to interpret thetime domain allocation can be different. The examples are mainly onSI-RNTI verses C-RNTI, but it may apply to other RNTIs because the RNTIis coupled with certain group of functions in a network.

Thus, the interpretation and presentation of the time domain allocationin the DCI is associated with the RNTI types. As the RNTIs are used bythe network for certain kind of functions or services, it would bebeneficial to have that association for a flexible networkfunctionality.

According to 3GPP RAN1 #91, one table is specified for uplinktransmissions and one table for downlink transmissions configured byradio resource control in Release 15. See also document R1-1802913,entitled “Remaining Details in UL Transmission Procedures.” Each tableis up to 16 rows. In the table, each row is configured by radio resourcecontrol with an offset K0 using two bits (for the downlink table), K2using three bits (for the uplink table), a six bit index into atable/equation in the RAN1 specifications capturing valid combinationsof a start symbol (“S”) and length (“L”), jointly encoded, and PDSCHmapping type A or B.

As further described in 3GPP RAN1 #91, for the reference point startingan orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (“OFDM”) symbol, there isno radio resource control (“RRC”) impact (e.g., slot boundary, start ofcontrol resource set (“CORESET”) where the PDCCH was found, or part ofthe table/equation in RAN1 specifications). An aggregation factor (1, 2,4, 8 for the downlink (“DL”) or uplink (“UL”)) is semi-staticallyconfigured separately (i.e., is not part of a table). There is noadditional RRC impact on how to use the aggregation factor along withthe tables.

The 3GPP RAN1 #91 does not specify the time domain allocation before theRRC configuration is received. This includes, for example, the timedomain resource assignment for MSG2, MSG3 and the remaining minimumsystem information (“RMSI”). For that, some default set of values can bedefined for DL and UL in the specification. A default PDSCH table can beused to address the time domain resource allocation before the RRCconfiguration is received. These PDCCHs will be carried in the RMSICORESET that contains PDSCH allocation for RMSI, paging, or MSG2.

Turning now to FIG. 8 , illustrated are graphical representations ofembodiments of synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel(“SS/PBCH”) block and RMSI CORESET multiplexing types. As illustrated inFIG. 8 , there are three multiplexing patterns between SS/PBCH and RMSICORESET, where for multiplexing patterns 2 and 3, the timing is givendirectly by the RMSI CORSET configuration; hence no rows in the defaulttable may be reserved for this purpose. For multiplexing pattern 2, thePDSCH starts from the first symbol of SS/PBCH block and ends up with thelast symbol of the SS/PBCH block. For multiplexing pattern 3, the PDSCHstarts right after the last symbol of RMSI CORESET and ends up with thelast symbol of the SS/PBCH block.

For multiplexing pattern 1, considering a half-slot/full-slot andassuming no gap between RMSI CORESET(s) and corresponding PDSCH, all Mvalues (which can take a value of ½, 1, or 2), possible combinations ofCORESET and the PDSCH positions in the time domain (tables 13.11-13.12in R1-1801293, CR for 38.213) can be summarized as set forth below.

For M=½, there will be two RMSI CORESETs in one slot, and the possiblefirst symbol index of RMSI CORESET may be 0, N_(symb) ^(CORESET) (numberof symbols in time domain in a CORESET) (1 or 2 or 3), 7. The startsymbol index of PDSCH may be X=1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and the length ofPDSCH may be Y=14−X (any X) or 7−X (X<6).

For M=1, there will be one RMSI CORESET in one slot, and the possiblefirst symbol index of RMSI CORESET may be 0, 1, 2. The start symbolindex of PDSCH may be X=1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the length of PDSCH may beY=14−X (X<13) or 7−X (X<6).

For M=2 (applicable for frequency range 2, i.e., above 6 GHz, only),there will be one RMSI CORESET in one slot, and the possible firstsymbol index of RMSI CORESET may be 0. The start symbol index of PDSCHmay be X=1,2,3 and the length of PDSCH may be Y=14−X (X<13) or 7−X(X<6).

If the above are combined, it is sufficient to have a fixed table with14 entries for different PDSCH start symbol in one slot X=1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 8, 9, 10. The length of PDSCH may simply be Y=14−X (X<13) or 7−X(X<6). It should be noted that any uplink symbols (if existent) in thisslot may be precluded for PDSCH scheduling.

TABLE 1 below illustrates configurations that can be combined withallowed CORESET configurations for multiplexing pattern 1 without gapsymbols between the CORESET and PDSCH allocations.

TABLE 1 Symbol Index K0 Start symbol Length 0 0 1 6 1 0 2 5 2 0 3 4 3 04 3 4 0 5 2 5 0 1 13 6 0 2 12 7 0 3 11 8 0 4 10 9 0 5 9 10 0 6 8 11 0 86 12 0 9 5 13 0 10 4

In order to support more default scheduling possibilities, theinformation DL-DMRS-typeA-pos={2, 3} in a master information block(“MIB”) may be used to tie with the start position S, which is likelycoupled in practice to the values signaled in DL-DMRS-typeA-pos. Use xto replace the S value, where x=DL-DMRS-typeA-pos.

TABLE 2 Default PDSCH Table i PDSCH mapping type K₀ S L 0 Type A 0 1 6 4Type A 0 x 14-x 5 Type A 0 x 12-x 6 Type A 0 x 11-x 7 Type A 0 x 10-x 8Type A 0 x  9-x 9 Type A 0 x  8-x 10 Type A 0 x  7-x 1 Type A 0 4 10 11Type A 0 4 3 12 Type B 0 5 9 2 Type A 0 5 2 13 Type B 0 6 8 14 Type B 06 4 3 Type A 0 9 5 15 Type B 0 10 4

In an embodiment, TABLE 2, illustrated above, describes a default timedomain allocation table for the PDSCH. It makes use of DL-DMRS-typeA-posto give possibilities for more configurations.

In another embodiment, for multiplexing pattern 2, the PDSCH scheduledby the PDCCH in the PBCH configured CORESET starts from the first symbolof the SS/PBCH block and ends up with the last symbol of the SS/PBCHblock.

In another embodiment, for multiplexing pattern 3, the PDSCH scheduledby the PDCCH in the PBCH configured CORESET starts right after the lastsymbol of the RMSI CORESET and ends up with the last symbol of theSS/PBCH block.

For a PUSCH transmission, a default table is defined with an offset K2indicating the time in number of slots that the user equipment (“UE”)should transmit the PUSCH transmission after the slot that the UE hasreceived the grant. The offset K2 value should satisfy a UE capabilityrequirement, the processing time needed by the UE from the last symbolthat the UE received over the PDCCH to the first symbol that the UE cantransmit over the PUSCH, which is defined in 3GPP TechnicalSpecification 36.213. The default table could later get overwritten by asystem information block (“SIB”)1 for a different network configuration.

TABLE 3 below is proposed as default time domain allocation for PUSCH:

TABLE 3 Default Time Domain A location for PUSCH Symbol Index K2 Startsymbol Length type 0 2 0 14 A 1 3 0 14 A 2 2 0 10 A 3 3 0 10 A 4 2 0 10A 5 3 0 10 A 6 7 0 14 A 7 8 0 14 A 8 Reserved reserved reserved reserved9 Reserved reserved reserved reserved 10 Reserved reserved reservedreserved 11 Reserved reserved reserved reserved 12 Reserved reservedreserved reserved 13 Reserved reserved reserved reserved 14 Reservedreserved reserved reserved 15 Reserved reserved reserved reserved

In another embodiment, TABLE 3 is proposed as a default time domainallocation table for PUSCH.

A MSG3 can be used as the default PUSCH table in initial accessprocedure. Time alignment (“TA”) is used by the network to inform a UEhow it should adjust its time when sending an uplink message. Themaximum TA in NR is designed to cover a cell range of 200-300 kilometers(“km”) and with 15 KHz subcarrier spacing. The initial timing advancevalue is measured in a gNB and sent to the UE via a random accessresponse (“RAR”) grant, and that value depends on the distance betweenthe UE and the gNB. The extra time that the UE needs to adjust itstransmission in addition to the processing time is based on networkmeasurements, or more likely the cell range, if the gNb wants tosimplify the scheduling by addressing the same time gap for transmissionof the MSG3 for all UEs in the cell. The time used in the MSG3scheduling to cover the time alignment is network implementationdependent. TABLE 4 below shows the time difference between a normalPUSCH scheduling in the columns identified as “N2+d_2(0˜1), TA_max, andNormal PUSCH, and MSG3 scheduling in the columns identified asN1+d_1(0˜1), 0.5 ms, Range in Nr symbols, and Range in slots.

The TA value for a normal cell of range 15 km for 15 k scs in number ofsymbols is 2, and the unnecessary latency is about 2 slots if it isforced to address the maximum TA value on the MSG3. The TA value forMSG3 together with the specific processing time for MSG3 can be includedin TABLE 4 below, the values proposed are aligned with the maximum cellrange supported for NR. For latency concerns, that table should also bereconfigurable via SIB1 so the MSG3 latency is addressed to the actualcell range. One more reason to have that configuration is to cover casesif UE processing time is changed or to support sending MSG3 in adifferent numerology. The UE may always use this MSG3 timing offsettable in addition to the time indicated in the time domain (“TD”)allocation PUSCH table for MSG3 transmission with TC-RNTI.

In section 8.3 of 3GPP TS 38.213, a minimum time between the last symbolon PDSCH contains RAR and the first symbol for the UE of a correspondingMSG3 PUSCH transmission is defined as N_t1+N_t2+N_ta_max+0.5 ms. N_t1and N_t2 is the UE processing time defined in a table in 3GPP TS 28.214.For numerology 1, N_t1+N_t2 gives about 22 to 25 symbols; N_ta_max isthe maximum timing adjustment value that can be provided by the TAcommand in RAR, which is approximately 2 slots. For normal PUSCHtransmissions, it requires only N_t2 that is 12 symbols. A separatetable is introduced to address the additional timing needed by MSG3. Thenumber of slots K3 should be added in addition to the K2 value in PUSCHtable.

Calculation for the time difference between MSG3 and normal PUSCH isshown below in TABLE 4.

TABLE 4 Message 3 (MSG3) K3 additional time table as default N1 +d_1(0~1) No Range additional Additional in Nr Range in Normal NumerologyDMRS DMRS N2 + d_2(0~1) 0.5 ms TA_max symbols slots PUSCH 0 8, 9 13, 1410, 11 7 28 25~60 2~5 1~3 1 10, 11 13, 14 12, 13 14 28 36~69 3~5 1~3 217, 18 20, 21 23, 24 28 28  68~101 5~8 2~4 3 20, 21 24, 25 36, 37 48 28104~138  8~10 3~5

For MSG3, a separate K3 value is used or to indicate the additionalprocessing time and the TA time differences from normal PUSCH in thenumber of slots, UE should add offset K3 to the offset K2.

The time difference between MSG3 and normal PUSCH in a table coversmaximum supported timing advance.

TABLE 5 shows a MSG3 K3 additional time as a default.

TABLE 5 Numerology 0 1 2 3 Additional 2 2 4 5 MSG3 offset K3

The MSG3 K3 should be configurable; the range for each offset K3 canhave 3 bits.

In another embodiment, TABLE 5 shown above is used as an additional timetable for MSG3. The UE should always add the additional number of slotsfor offset K3 onto the offset K2 value from PUSCH table to derive thetransmission slot for MSG3. The table should be reconfigurable via SIB1to improve MSG3 latency.

The process listed below illustrates computation of a PUSCHconfiguration:

PUSCH-ConfigCommon ::= SEQUENCE {  -- Sequence-group hopping can beenabled or disabled by means of this cell-specific parameter.  --Corresponds to L1 parameter ‘Group-hopping-enabled-Transform-precoding’(see TS 38.211)  -- This field is Cell specific groupHoppingEnabledTransformPrecoding ENUMERATED{enabled}  OPTIONAL, -- Need R  -- List of time domain allocations fortiming of UL assignment to UL data  pusch-AllocationList   SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofUL-Allocations)) OF PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationOPTIONAL, -- Need R  msg3-DeltaPreamble INTEGER (−1..6)msg3-TimingOffsetList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofNumerologies)

For the TD allocation for system information, the SI-RNTI is used tocarry the initial network system configurations. No other networkinformation that characterizes the network configuration has beenindicated to a UE, so the configuration of the TD allocation must bemore flexible to satisfy different network requirements. The examplesbelow demonstrate improving the configuration flexibility on SI-RNTI.

System information is sent to all UEs; this helps a UE to become updatedwith network configurations. A UE reads the system information both atthe state before initial access and after RRC-connected, when it ispaged to reread system information for an update. Interpretation ofTD-allocation for SI-RNTI should be consistent for all UEs.

In 3GPP meeting RAN1 Ad-Hoc #1801, the following concepts were discussedregarding the DCI format for RMSI/OSI/paging and random access. Detailedcontent of DCI has yet to be determined. NR supports a DCI format havingthe same size as the DCI format 1_0 to be used for scheduling RMSI/OSI,both for paging and for random access.

To support system information carried by SI-RNTI with a more flexibletime domain allocation, these two options fulfil the flexibilityrequirement from the network side. A fixed table to include differentconfigurations of a different favor or an explicit TD allocation can beused.

The RRC configured table should not be used for SI-RNTI; in this way theassociation between the system information allocation and other datatransmission is decoupled.

In a first option, a fixed table is always referred to in aspecification to indicate the TD allocation for DCI scrambled withSI-RNTI.

In a second option, time domain allocation for system informationcarried by PDCCH scrambled with SI-RNTI should have the flexibility ofany start symbol and symbol lengths within one slot. The TD-allocationshould not get limited with a pre-defined fixed number of configurationentries.

TABLE 6 below illustrates various fields associated with a time domainallocation.

TABLE 6 Field Bits Comment Identifier for DCI 1 Reserved formatsFrequency domain ┌log₂(N_(RB) ^(DLBWP)(N_(RB) ^(DLBWP) + 1)/2)┐ resourceassignment Time domain resource 7 Use SLIV to present any startassignment symbol and symbol length within the 14 symbols. Time offsetK0 1 or 2 bits Number of slots from current PDCCH received slot DMRS(demodulation 1 indicate if type A or type B to reference signal)pattern use for DMRS pattern. VRB-to-PRB mapping 1 Modulation and coding[4] Same MCS table as for “normal” scheme transmission without 256QAM,only lowest part used. New data indicator 1 Reserved Redundancy version2 Reserved HARQ (hybrid 4 Reserved automatic retransmission request)process number Downlink assignment 2 Reserved index TPC command for 2Reserved scheduled PUCCH PUCCH resource 3 Reserved indicator PDSCH-to- 3Reserved HARQ_feedback timing indicator

In an embodiment, for consistency, the TD allocation of systeminformation should always refer to a same fixed table. For bothconsistency and flexibility, the TD allocation of system informationshould be explicitly configured with a start symbol, a symbol length, anoffset K0, and DMRS type in the PDCCH associated with systeminformation.

Overwriting rules are provided for a default table, an SIB1 table, and adedicated table. In 3GPP meeting RAN1 #92, the concepts below werediscussed with respect to providing a possibility to configure the timedomain allocation table in SIB1 (RMSI).

The concepts include requesting RAN2 to introduce a possibility forproviding an RRC-configured table in RMSI to configure PDSCH and PUSCHsymbol allocation for PDSCH/PUSCH scheduling after RMSI, where theRRC-configurable table via dedicated signaling was previously addressedin RAN1.

The PDSCH/PUSCH table is defined per bandwidth part (“BWP”) in RRCconfiguration. To clarify which table should be used by a UE, uponreceiving PDCCH scrambled with C-RNTI, which is associated with a commonsearch space (CSS) or a UE specific search space (USS), P-RNTI(associated with a CSS), CS-RNTI (associated with a CSS and a USS),RA-RNTI (associated with a CSS), TC-RNTI (associated with a CSS and aUSS), SP-CSI-RNTI (associated with a USS DCI0_1), following rules shouldbe applied.

If an SIB1 or a dedicated RRC table has not been received by a UE, theUE applies the index number indicated in DCI with the defaultPDSCH/PUSCH table to interpret the TD allocation.

If SIB1 configured table (a common configuration) has been received by aUE, that table overwrites the default table, and the UE interprets theTD allocation with an SIB1-configured PDSCH/PUSCH table.

If RRC configured dedicated table for initial BWP has been received bythe UE, that table overwrites the SIB1-configured table and the defaulttable.

If only an RRC-configured, dedicated table for other BWP than an initialBWP has been received by the UE, the UE applies the RRC-configured tableonly for the BWP that the dedicated table configured to when PDCCH isreceived indicates a transmission for that BWP. If the PDCCH indicates atransmission for the initial BWP, the UE uses the SIB1 table if it hasbeen configured, otherwise uses the default table, to interpret the TDallocation.

In another embodiment, if a dedicated table has not been received viaRRC for the BWP at receiving C-RNTI, P-RNTI, CS-RNTI, the UE shouldapply the SIB1-configured or default PUSCH/PDSCH TD allocation table forcurrent BWPs.

In another embodiment, RA-RNTI and TC-RNTI and P-RNTI should always usethe SIB1 PDSCH/PUSCH table, if configured, or the default table.

Thus, the following items regarding time and frequency domain resourceallocations have been described:

In one embodiment, TABLE 2 is proposed as the default time domainallocation table for PDSCH. DL-DMRS-typeA-pos is used to givepossibilities for more configurations.

In another embodiment, for multiplexing pattern 2, PDSCH scheduled byPDCCH in PBCH configured CORESET starts from the first symbol of SS/PBCHblock and ends with the last symbol of SS/PBCH block.

In another embodiment, for multiplexing pattern 3, PDSCH scheduled byPDCCH in PBCH configured CORESET starts right after the last symbol ofRMSI CORESET and ends with the last symbol of SS/PBCH block.

In another embodiment, TABLE 3 is employed as the default time domainallocation table for PUSCH.

In another embodiment, TABLE 5 is used as additional time table forMSG3. A UE should always add the additional number of slots for offsetK3 onto the K2 offset value from PUSCH table to derive the transmissionslot for the MSG3. The table should be reconfigurable via SIB1 toimprove MSG3 latency.

In another embodiment, for consistency, the TD allocation of systeminformation should always refer to same fixed table. For bothconsistency and flexibility, the TD allocation of system informationshould be explicitly configured with a start symbol, a symbol length, anoffset K0 and DMRS type in the PDCCH associated with system information.

In another embodiment, if no dedicated table has been received via RRCfor the BWP at receiving C-RNTI, P-RNTI, CS-RNTI, the UE should applythe SIB1 configured or default PUSCH/PDSCH TD-allocation table forcurrent BWPs.

In another embodiment, RA-RNTI and TC-RNTI and P-RNTI should always usethe SIB1 PDSCH/PUSCH table, if configured, or a default table.

Turning now FIG. 9 , illustrated is a flow diagram of an embodiment of amethod 900 of operating a communication system. The method 900 performedby a user equipment in the communication system begins at a start stepor module 910 and then, at a step or module 920, the user equipmentreceives a time domain allocation (or an indication thereof) in downlinkcontrol information associated with a radio network temporary identifier(“RNTI”) identifying the user equipment and/or group of user equipment.The downlink control information including the time domain allocationmay be received from a radio access node in a physical downlink controlchannel (“PDCCH”) scrambled with the RNTI.

At a step or module 930, the user equipment employs the time domainallocation associated with the RNTI for transmissions (such as downlinktransmissions) associated therewith. If the RNTI is a systeminformation-radio network temporary identifier (“SI-RNTI”), the userequipment receives system information using the time domain allocationassociated with the SI-RNTI. The user equipment may employ an entry froma table indexed by the indication of the time domain allocationassociated with the RNTI for transmissions associated with the userequipment. The table may depend on a type of RNTI. Another indication ofthe time domain allocation may be from a master information block(“MIB”). For example, the user equipment may relate a parameter from theMIB to the entry from the table indexed by the time domain allocationassociated with the RNTI for transmissions associated with the userequipment. The type of RNTI includes a random access (“RA”)-RNTI, apaging (“P”)-RNTI, a temporary cell (“TC”)-RNTI, a configured scheduling(“CS”)-RNTI, a system information (“SI”)-RNTI and/or a cell (“C”)-RNTI.The user equipment is configured to employ the time domain allocationassociated with the RNTI for uplink transmissions (e.g., over a physicaluplink shared channel (“PUSCH”)) and/or for downlink transmissions(e.g., over a physical downlink shared channel (“PDSCH”)). The method900 ends at an end step or module 940.

Furthermore, the time domain allocation associated with the RNTI may bea function of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel(“SS/PBCH”) block and control resource set (“CORESET”) multiplexingpattern. The time domain allocation associated with the RNTI may includea default time domain allocation and/or a dedicated time domainallocation. The time domain allocation associated with the RNTI mayinclude a common time domain allocation from a system information block(“SIB”). The time domain allocation associated with a cell (“C”)-RNTI ora configured scheduling (“CS”)-RNTI may be a dedicated time domainallocation. The user equipment may employ a dedicated time domainallocation in lieu of a default time domain allocation or a common timedomain allocation depending on the RNTI for transmissions associatedwith the user equipment.

Turning now FIG. 10 , illustrated is a flow diagram of an embodiment ofa method 1000 of operating a communication system. The method 1000performed by a radio access node in the communication system begins at astart step or module 1010 and then, at a step or module 1020, the radioaccess node associates a time domain allocation with a radio networktemporary identifier (“RNTI”) identifying a user equipment and/or groupof user equipment. At a step or module 1030, the radio access nodeprovides the time domain allocation (or an indication thereof) indownlink control information to allow the user equipment to employ thetime domain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissionsassociated therewith. The downlink control information including thetime domain allocation may be provided in a physical downlink controlchannel (“PDCCH”) scrambled with the RNTI. If the RNTI is a systeminformation-radio network temporary identifier (“SI-RNTI”), the radioaccess node provides system information using the time domain allocationassociated with the SI-RNTI.

At a step or module 1040, the radio access node directs the userequipment to employ an entry from a table indexed by the indication ofthe time domain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissionsassociated therewith. The table may depend on a type of RNTI. Anotherindication of the time domain allocation may be from an MIB. Forexample, the radio access node may direct the user equipment to relate aparameter from the MIB to the entry from the table indexed by the timedomain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissions associatedtherewith. The type of RNTI includes a random access (“RA”)-RNTI, apaging (“P”)-RNTI, a temporary cell (“TC”)-RNTI, a configured scheduling(“CS”)-RNTI, a system information (“SI”)-RNTI and/or a cell (“C”)-RNTI.

At a step or module 1050, the radio access node is configured to directthe user equipment to employ the time domain allocation associated withthe RNTI for uplink transmissions (e.g., over a physical uplink sharedchannel (“PUSCH”)) and/or for downlink transmissions (e.g., over aphysical downlink shared channel (“PDSCH”)). The method 1000 ends at anend step or module 1060.

Furthermore, the time domain allocation associated with the RNTI may bea function of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel(“SS/PBCH”) block and control resource set (“CORESET”) multiplexingpattern. The time domain allocation associated with the RNTI may includea default time domain allocation and/or a dedicated time domainallocation. The time domain allocation associated with the RNTI mayinclude a common time domain allocation from a system information block(“SIB”). The time domain allocation associated with a cell (“C”)-RNTI ora configured scheduling (“CS”)-RNTI may be a dedicated time domainallocation. The radio access node is configured to direct the userequipment to employ a dedicated time domain allocation in lieu of adefault time domain allocation or a common time domain allocationdepending on the RNTI for transmissions associated with the userequipment.

Thus, a system and method for providing time domain allocations in acommunication system has been introduced herein. In one embodiment (andwith continuing reference to the aforementioned FIGUREs), an apparatus(such as a user equipment 105, 200 with processing circuitry 205) isoperable in a communication system (100) and configured to receive atime domain allocation (or an indication thereof) in downlink controlinformation associated with a radio network temporary identifier(“RNTI”) identifying the apparatus (105, 200), and employ the timedomain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissions associatedwith the apparatus (105, 200). In another embodiment (and withcontinuing reference to the aforementioned FIGUREs), an apparatus (suchas a radio access node 110, 300 with processing circuitry 305) isoperable in a communication system (100) and configured to associate atime domain allocation with a radio network temporary identifier(“RNTI”) identifying a user equipment (105, 200), and provide the timedomain allocation (or an indication thereof) in downlink controlinformation to allow the user equipment (105, 200) to employ the timedomain allocation associated with the RNTI for transmissions associatedtherewith.

As described above, the exemplary embodiments provide both a method andcorresponding apparatus consisting of various modules providingfunctionality for performing the steps of the method. The modules may beimplemented as hardware (embodied in one or more chips including anintegrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit),or may be implemented as software or firmware for execution by aprocessor. In particular, in the case of firmware or software, theexemplary embodiments can be provided as a computer program productincluding a computer readable storage medium embodying computer programcode (i.e., software or firmware) thereon for execution by the computerprocessor. The computer readable storage medium may be non-transitory(e.g., magnetic disks; optical disks; read only memory; flash memorydevices; phase-change memory) or transitory (e.g., electrical, optical,acoustical or other forms of propagated signals-such as carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). The coupling of a processorand other components is typically through one or more busses or bridges(also termed bus controllers). The storage device and signals carryingdigital traffic respectively represent one or more non-transitory ortransitory computer readable storage medium. Thus, the storage device ofa given electronic device typically stores code and/or data forexecution on the set of one or more processors of that electronic devicesuch as a controller.

Although the embodiments and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope thereof as defined by the appended claims. For example, many ofthe features and functions discussed above can be implemented insoftware, hardware, or firmware, or a combination thereof. Also, many ofthe features, functions, and steps of operating the same may bereordered, omitted, added, etc., and still fall within the broad scopeof the various embodiments.

Moreover, the scope of the various embodiments is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed, that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized as well. Accordingly, the appendedclaims are intended to include within their scope such processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus operable in a communication system, comprising: processing circuitry; and memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to: receive an indication of a time domain allocation in downlink control information, the downlink control information being scrambled with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) identifying the apparatus or a group of apparatuses including the apparatus; and employ the time domain allocation for transmissions associated with the apparatus or group of apparatuses, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to employ an entry from a table indexed by the indication of the time domain allocation for transmissions associated with the apparatus or group of apparatuses, and wherein the table depends on a type of RNTI.
 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the time domain allocation is a function of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block and control resource set (CORESET) multiplexing pattern.
 3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the type of RNTI includes at least one of a random access (RA)-RNTI, a paging (P)-RNTI, a temporary cell (TC)-RNTI, a configured scheduling (CS)-RNTI, a system information (SI)-RNTI, and a cell (C)-RNTI.
 4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the time domain allocation is a default time domain allocation.
 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the time domain allocation is a common time domain allocation from a system information block (SIB).
 6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the time domain allocation is a dedicated time domain allocation.
 7. A method performed by an apparatus in a communication system, comprising: receiving an indication of a time domain allocation in downlink control information, the downlink control information being scrambled with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) identifying the apparatus or a group of apparatuses including the apparatus; and employing the time domain allocation for transmissions associated with the apparatus or group of apparatuses, wherein employing the time domain allocation includes employing an entry from a table indexed by the indication of the time domain allocation for transmissions associated with the apparatus or group of apparatuses, and wherein the table depends on a type of RNTI.
 8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the type of RNTI includes at least one of a random access (RA)-RNTI, a paging (P)-RNTI, a temporary cell (TC)-RNTI, a configured scheduling (CS)-RNTI, a system information (SI)-RNTI, and a cell (C)-RNTI.
 9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the apparatus is configured to employ the time domain allocation for uplink transmissions over a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and/or for downlink transmissions over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).
 10. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the time domain allocation is a function of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block and control resource set (CORESET) multiplexing pattern.
 11. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the time domain allocation is a default time domain allocation.
 12. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the time domain allocation is a common time domain allocation from a system information block (SIB).
 13. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the time domain allocation is a dedicated time domain allocation.
 14. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the time domain allocation is a default time domain allocation.
 15. An apparatus operable in a communication system, comprising: processing circuitry; and memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the apparatus to: scramble downlink control information containing a time domain allocation with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) identifying a user equipment or a group of user equipment including the user equipment; and provide an indication of the time domain allocation in downlink control information to allow the user equipment or group of user equipment to employ the time domain allocation for transmissions associated therewith, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to direct the user equipment or group of user equipment to employ an entry from a table indexed by the indication of the time domain allocation for transmissions associated therewith, and wherein the table depends on a type of RNTI.
 16. The apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein the type of RNTI includes at least one of a random access (RA)-RNTI, a paging (P)-RNTI, a temporary cell (TC)-RNTI, a configured scheduling (CS)-RNTI, a system information (SI)-RNTI, and a cell (C)-RNTI.
 17. The apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein the time domain allocation is a function of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block and control resource set (CORESET) multiplexing pattern.
 18. A method performed by an apparatus in a communication system, comprising: associating a time domain allocation with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) identifying a user equipment or a group of user equipment including the user equipment; and providing an indication of the time domain allocation in downlink control information to allow the user equipment or group of user equipment to employ the time domain allocation for transmissions associated therewith, further comprising directing the user equipment or group of user equipment to employ an entry from a table indexed by the time domain allocation for transmissions associated therewith, and wherein the table depends on a type of RNTI.
 19. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising directing the user equipment or group of user equipment to employ the time domain allocation for uplink transmissions over a physical uplink shared channel (“PUSCH”) and/or for downlink transmissions over a physical downlink shared channel (“PDSCH”).
 20. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the time domain allocation is a function of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block and control resource set (CORESET) multiplexing pattern.
 21. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the time domain allocation is a common time domain allocation from a system information block (SIB).
 22. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the time domain allocation is a dedicated time domain allocation. 